Returning Home
by bloomgirl
Summary: Losing Ron in the war against Voldemort drives Hermione away from the Wizarding world. Five years later, she comes back to a position at the Ministry working with the last person she expected, Draco Malfoy. HGDM.
1. The Prologue

Disclaimer: If Harry and his friends belonged to me, I would not be writing this fanfiction because a) it wouldn't be fanfiction, it'd be the real thing and b) we'd probably be off having a wild orgy (just taking our shoes off, people! Minds out of the gutter!) If this story is like other H/Dr stories out there, it is completely unintentional because I have never read anything that resembles it.

Ship: H/Dr

Rating: Right now T, but will be M.

Summary: Losing Ron in the war against Voldemort drives Hermione away from the Wizarding world. Five years later, she comes back to a position at the Ministry working with the last person she expected, Draco Malfoy. H/Dr.

Prologue

_June 28, 1998_

_Dearest Harry,_

_I hate to tell you after everything we've been through throughout our years at Hogwarts, and especially this year, that I'm leaving. I can't live in this world any longer with him gone. I loved him. I love him. Looking at you, looking at anything magical reminds me too much of Ron. Staying here would kill me._

_I'm going to go to university and I'm going to live the life I was originally set out to live, the life of a muggle. I would still like to keep in contact with you, but only you. I must sever ties with Wizarding as much possible. I feel that it is the only way to move on._

_Please know that I love you, Harry. We fought the good fight, and I know that you'll keep on fighting. If you ever need me, I'm just an owl away._

_All the Love I Have Left,_

_Hermione Granger_


	2. 1 The Manor

Chapter 1 – The Manor

Molly, Lupin, Tonks, Moody, Figg, McGonagall, Shacklebolt, Bill, Charlie. They were all seated at 12 Grimmauld Place except Arthur. The new Ministry of Magic was running late. They were still tired from fighting.

The table was concealed with Molly's tear-stained handkerchiefs and the blueprints of houses that belonged to Death Eaters before their, well, deaths. A piece of parchment sat in front of Lupin, the ink still drying.

_Crabbe Manor_

_The House of Doyle_

_Gibbon Hall_

_Malfoy Manor_

_Parkinson Manor_

_Zabini Manor_

A poof and Arthur stood before them, sliding his wand into his robe pocket. "Where are we?" he asked, patting his wife's back before sitting down beside her.

"Discussing the destruction of their homes," stated Lupin dryly, nodding toward the list before handing it to the eldest Weasley.

"Malfoy Manor is on the list?"

"Yes sir."

Arthur sighed. "The boy; he helped us though. Is it fair to take the only thing he has left after Voldemort killed his parents?"

Moody spoke up. "We all know that Malfoy Manor has more dark arts than all other death eater homes combined. We can't leave that open for anyone to find. It should be destroyed with the others."

They all knew he was right. It was too risky.

"The manor can stay. We'll take all things dark and suspicious."

----

"Absolutely not."

Arthur leaned forward in his seat. "Son, this is not a question. The entire estate was going to be destroyed, but because of your work during the battles, it was saved. This is the only way it can be."

The younger wizard leaned back into the chair nonchalantly, as if he could care less if the entire estate was burned to the ground. They both knew better. "You can take every shrunken head and Hand of Glory out of here, but you will not touch the library. It is a part of the family. It will not be altered."

Arthur knew the young Malfoy was as stubborn as his late son and that he would see to it that he got his way.

"Mr. Malfoy, what are you planning on doing now that school is over?"

"I have no plans."

"What if you were put in charge of the Ministry's new Dark Arts Council? You would study and research the dark arts, which we know that you, along with Ms. Granger, are quite good at after your work in the war. You could keep the library for research purposes."

"Me? A death eater's son working on a _dark arts_ council for the Ministry?" He laughed humorlessly.

"Your father and I were coworkers."

"Yes, when Crouch was in charge. You, on the other, have no ulterior motives."

"Draco, there are aurors outside waiting to raid the house of all dark possessions or to destroy it. Make your decision quickly."

The blonde eyed him carefully then stood and threw the large rug between them to the side.


	3. 2 The Decision

**Author's Note**: Warning in advance: I haven't had this beta-ed. So please excuse any grammatical mistakes. Please, continue on. J

Chapter 2 – The Decision

Five Years Later

Hermione Granger opened the small window of her childhood bedroom to lessen the stuffiness and to rid it of darkness. For the past twelve years, this had been a retreat from school woes and life-altering heartaches. It was her retreat once again. Now, a fortress from unemployment. Hermione's degree in chemistry had not saved her from scrambling to buy food and paying the rent. She had no choice but to move in with Mom and Dad once more.

The former witche opened the top box of her belongings, pulled out a satin box, and sat down on her bed. Their picture. His ring. It was the only the picture she had of the two of them. They were at Bill and Fleur's wedding, simply just smiling at each other and then at the camera. It was one of the few good times they had that year, and she had never been so happy. She lifted the ring and placed it on her left hand's ring finger. It was not an engagement ring, it was a ring of promise – the promise that he would always love her. A small garnet adorned the thin gold bang. She had missed him so much the past few days. It was so hard right now and he would make her laugh, or perhaps make her angry. Both would be a welcomed distraction.

An amber-shaded owl landed on the window seal, waiting to be invited inside. "Who are you, little one?" The only owl she had seen in the last five years was Hedwig. Walking over towards him, she removed the parchment from his thin leg.

_Ms. Granger,_

_Harry has informed me that you have unfortunately been unable to find work living as a muggle. A position has opened at the Ministry that I feel would be of interest to you. I cannot discuss details, as it is a matter of secrecy, but your experience with potions is highly needed._

_Please come back, Hermione. The Weasley family, nor the Wizarding world, has been the same without you. Send your reply with Neelwid._

_Forever at Your Service,_

_Artthur Weasley_

Neelwid flew to her desk to await her reply. Her amber eyes looked at him and he looked back, his eyes telling her to hurry. He was owl to the Minister of Magic – he didn't have time for indecisiveness.

Sighing, she stood up and retrieved her old quill and stack of parchment from the bottom drawer. She knew her answer. She was a failure as a muggle. As a witch, she was the brightest student since Tom Riddle himself. She had fought beside the Boy Who Lived against Voldemort's army of Death Eaters, Demeantors, and other followers of darkness. As a witch, nothing could stop her.

_I accept._

As Neelwid flew toward the Ministry of Magic, Hermione slowly opened her dresser drawer and grabbed her wand for the first time in half a decade. Swish and flick. "_Lumos_."

-------

Harry sat in the Leaky Cauldron impatiently awaiting Hermione's arrival. _Five years_, he thought. What would she be like? He looked at his watch – his best friend should be here any minute.

"Harry?" Hermione's chocolate wild curls bounced up and down as she ran to her friend.

"'Mione," he whispered into her hair as they embraced. He held he hands at arms' length. "You haven't changed a bit."

"You most certainly have, Harry! I must say that Ginny is _very_ lucky."

Harry's blush spread all the way to his scar. It was still there, even after Voldemort's end.

"Do you mind if I stay with you until I find a place of my own?" she asked while sipping a butter beer.

"Of course not. You'll have to sleep on the couch, but it's all yours. I'm just so glad you're back."

"Thank you, and I am too. I don't know what I was thinking, Harry. This is where I belong; I was just too stubborn to come back.

"Do you know anything about this project I'll be working on?"

"The only thing the aurors know is that the Potions Department is teaming up with the Dark Arts Council."

"Dark Arts Council? Isn't that led by—"

"That's right. Hermione Granger will once again be working side by side with Draco Malfoy. Just like old times."

**A/N:** Hermione and Draco will finally meet again next chapter. Please review, loves. It drives me to write more.


	4. 3 The Reunion

**A/N:** Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews. I would have put this up sooner, but I've been super super busy! So, forgive me. Anyways, on to the story!

Chapter 3 – The Reunion

"Wish me luck, I'm going to need it," Hermione said as Harry dropped her off on the eleventh floor of the Ministry of Magic.

He smiled. "Good luck. Though, I don't think anyone would mind if you punched him in the face."

Grinning, Hermione made her way to the receptionist's desk. "I'm here to see Robert Lonski."

"Are you Ms. Granger?"

"Yes, I am."

The secretary pointed her wand at Robert Lonski's name on a wooden plaque behind her. "Mr. Lonski, Ms. Granger is here to see you." Immediately, a large oak door swung open across the hall, causing a slight rush of air at Hermione's feet. "You may go in."

Hermione slowly entered the room, studying her surroundings. A small, balding man stood as she entered. "Ms. Granger, it's nice to meet you." She shook his hand firmly. "Please, have a seat."

"Thank you."

"I must say, Hermione, that the information I have on you is very brief. You're here because Arthur insisted you get the job." He opened up a small file. "It says here you were only at Hogwarts for six years."

"Yes sir, the war happened during my seventh year."

"The school was still open, no?"

She started fidgeting. "Yes, but you see… we… I… fought in it."

"Oh… _oh_. You're _Hermione Granger_. Didn't the _Prophet_ say you and Harry Potter were an item—"

"Well sir—"

"I bet he's very happy you're working for the ministry—"

"Mr. Lonski! Excuse me for interrupting, but Harry is engaged to the Minister's daughter, Ginny. And Harry and I have never been romantically involved."

"Oh, well, _The Daily Prophet_ said—"

"_The Daily Prophet_ has a way of spinning the truth. Especially when Rita Skeeter is involved."

He nodded as though his wedding plans for Harry and Hermione had been crushed. "Well, Hermione, let me give you a tour of the place and then we'll have our meeting with the Dark Arts Council about your new project."

_Joy._ "Okay, let's go." Mr. Lonski led Hermione through the Ministry's many laboratories and introduced her to her coworkers. She was shocked to find that she was the only female on the Potions staff. Last, she was shown her desk and workspace. She knew she would spend many a nights working there.

"It's time for our conference, Hermione."

She replied with a short nod and followed him and three other chemists to a conference room on the fifth floor. As she entered, she wanted nothing more than to stare at the ground until she reached her seat, but she knew avoiding eye contact would not be professional on the first day. It had been so long and she hated the way he had made her feel – hatred, lust. Her love for Ron was the only thing that had stopped her from letting him…

"Granger?"

She looked up, trying to keep her cool. "Malfoy." She couldn't help but smile at the look of utter shock on his visage. She sat down across the table from him.

"Let's get started," Mr. Lonski said as he closed the door. Nine people awaited his beginning – four from the Department of Potions and five from the Dark Arts Council.

"You have been chosen by myself and Mr. Malfoy to work on one of the most important projects the Ministry has ever seen. Draco, would you like to introduce the project?"

The blonde stood, his tall stature over towering the Ministry employees at the table. "Good morning. Over the next few months, we will be working together to create a potion or potions that will protect aurors from hexes, dark magic, and, if we're lucky, the Unforgivable Curses. We will begin with research. The Library of the Dark Arts Council will be our research headquarters. The library only opens to the Minister and to members of the council, so all Potions members will only be authorized to enter if they are accompanied by Council members." He looked directly at Hermione. "Any questions?"

Lonski stood before anyone could ask anything. "Now let me that this will be ground-breaking in the fight against the dark arts. So this is an extremely secretive matter. No one is to know what we are doing and after the potions are made, no one is to know their effects. Telling anyone would be considered treason against the Ministry of Magic and the guilty will spend a lifetime in Azkaban." With a flick of his wand, a piece of parchment fell in front of the nine team members followed by nine black quills. "Singing this contract magically binds you to keep all parts of this project discreet so that there is no temptation to spill the beans." The scratch of quill on parchment filled the air before all nine contracts popped and vanished into thin air before them."

"If you will all follow me, we will go to the DAC library," said Lonski as he headed toward the door. The Ministry employees rose and began to exit the conference room. Draco grabbed Hermione's arm.

"Finally come back from your disappearing act?"

A little too close for comfort. Or maybe too comfortable. _Therein lies the problem_, thought Hermione. "Yes, Draco."

"Go back to the muggles? They spit you back out?" He was bitter. She was the only one who had ever turned him down.

"Back off, Malfoy."

His face inched closer to hers. "Filthy, little m—"

She whipped around, her wand immediately pointing at his crotch. "Go ahead. Say it."

-------

**A/N:** I've always heard of authors saying that their characters have a mind of their own and wish to go against the authors' plot plans. Writing this chapter was my first experience with that. Little Draco is a stubbon bastard. I let him have his way… with me. Hehe! Please review, loves.


	5. 4 The Remembrance

**A/N:** Thanks so much for your reviews, darlings. They make me so happy!

Patronuscharm2 – It's not so much that Draco's working for the Minstry so he must be a good guy. I wouldn't call him bad, but he's still the asshole we love to hate.

Once again, forgive me for grammatical errors. No beta!

Chapter 4 – The Remembrance

"Let's just say he left me alone for the rest of the day."

Harry laughed heartily as Ginny's hand held his own. "Priceless. That's better than third year, 'Mione. Hermione Granger hexing Draco Malfoy's penis off. I would have paid to see it."

Hermione had finally found her own place and Harry and Ginny had helped her move in. It was small and simple, but Hermione thought it was perfect. One bedroom, one bath, small kitchen and a living room. It was enough for her. The trio was lying on top of the Hermione's mattress, exhausted.

"I hate it though, because I know that it'd probably be best if he and I stuck together in this project. You know, because of our work in the war. And plus I know he will actually put some effort into it."

"Well, tell him to put the personal shit behind him and just stick to the job," said Ginny, sitting up. "I'm hungry. Let's forget Malfoy and go get some food. Chinese, preferably."

----

Five damn years and the fucking mudblood looked better than ever. Sweet Merlin, the look on her face when she whipped around… he shivered at the thought.

He poured himself another glass of brandy, closing his eyes as he put the glass to his lips.

"Master Draco, a letter here for you!" said Tibsy, his house elf, as she knocked on the door.

"Come in." Draco took the letter from her small hands. Hermione's curved print adorned the front of the letter, addressing it to Draco Malfoy."

_Let's put the past behind us. I don't want it to get in the way of our work. We can do this again, Draco, if you'd stop being such a prat._

_-H._

He read over it again. _We can do this again, Draco._ The blonde rose from his seat and began to address a letter to Robert Lonski.

----

Hermione exited the lift on the eleventh floor, walked past the receptionist, and headed toward her desk.

"Ms. Granger!" She turned around and saw the receptionist running after her. "Mr. Lonski said that you will be working with Mr. Malfoy at Malfoy Manor and for you to apparate there immediately."

"What? Why?"

She leaned toward Hermione whispered. "Malfoy Manor is the only death eater home still standing, and its library was untouched. From what I hear, Mr. Malfoy does a lot of the council's work from home."

Hermione nodded. "Thank you." She stepped outside the Ministry of Magic and apparated to the front gate of the Malfoy Manor, which opened after she appeared. Walking on the cobblestone pathway, Hermione gazed at the house. It was still as majestic as it used to be. Still as chilling.

Immediately after knocking on the door, a house elf opened it. "Ms. Granger, Master is in the library. Follow Tibsy."

"Thank you, Tibsy." Hermione couldn't help but stare at the marble floors, the mahogany staircase, the hallway lined with portraits of members of the Malfoy family. All fair-skinned, all handsome.

Tibsy opened the door to the library. "Master Draco, Ms. Granger is here to see you."

"Tibsy, are you not supposed to knock?"

"Oh master, Tibsy been bad." She went to the wall and began to bang her head against it.

"Tibsy, leave." He stood up.

"Yes, master." The house elf ran out of the library and Draco shut the door behind her.

He looked at Hermione's face. "What?"

"I'm just… shocked to be here."

"Well, we're 'putting the past behind us.' Let's get to work, shall we?" Draco lifted the large rug in front of him. He pointed his want at the floor and whispered the incantation Hermione had heard so many times five years ago.

The floor between them transformed into a staircase that led to the library's dark arts section. Hermione followed Draco down the stairs, his whispers lighting the room as they entered. The space was actually larger than the library above them, but not as grand. It was dark, cold, and frightening. Hermione felt the evil deeds that had been planned there in the years before them.

"You and I are working on the Unforgivable Curses. You take Cruciatus, I'll take Imperatus, and we'll both work nn the killing curse. You should find what you're looking for over there."

"I know, I remember." Hermione went to the shelves and grabbed an armful of books. She turned around to Draco sitting down at the table, _accio_-ing his books to the table. He smirked at her. "Sometimes I forget that I'm a witch again."

She sat down across from this. "Quill? Parchment?" He leaned over and handed her what she had asked for. Hermione took a deep breath, taking in the beloved smell of leather-bound books. Nothing smelled better. She opened the top book, scanning its table of contents and index, jotting down pages that might be helpful.

An hour passed of flipping pages and scratching on parchment. The brunette looked up from her notes and looked at the man in front of her. "Malfoy?"

"Yes?" He kept writing on the parchment in front of him, his blonde locks falling into his gray eyes.

"Why work with me again? You had four other people to choose from."

He sighed and lowered his quill, his eyes meeting hers. "Because I know you're not incompetent and we'll get the work done together. They would have been disgusted reading about these curses, talking of nothing but the immorality of the books."

" 'There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written.'"

"Oscar Wilde."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "Draco Malfoy reads Oscar Wilde? He reads muggle literature?"

"Who said Oscar Wilde was a muggle?"

"I just assumed—"

"Granger, assuming makes an ass out of you and me. And no one makes an ass out of Draco Malfoy."

"Except, of course, Draco Malfoy." He opened his mouth to speak but Hermione cut him off. "Does the word 'ferret' mean anything to you?" She giggled. 'Don't get pissed off Malfoy. I'm only teasing."

"We should get back to work." Hermione picked up her quill again, doing everything she could not to laugh. The two of them worked for three hours straight, both continuously thinking about that night—

_It was late and Hermione and Draco had been researching for hours and they were finally getting somewhere. The pair had spent days in that room, only leaving to sleep and to refresh._

_He asked her if she was ready to call it a night. "I'm ready to call it a year, Draco," she replied. She stood up and looked at a forlorn Malfoy._

"_Draco, the Order will find her."_

"_He's punishing me, Hermione. He fucking took my mum because I couldn't kill Dumbledore. She's hurting and scared and I'm hiding out _researching_. What the hell are we researching, Hermione? We won't win this war with books. Wars are won with blood, with passion—"_

"_With strategy, Draco Malfoy. And that's what you and I are here to do."_

"_Strategizing while Potty and Weasel are fighting." He stood up. "I am a Malfoy! Malfoys do not sit behind the lines, they fight!"_

"_Malfoys would be torturing your mother with branded forearms."_

_He stared at her, knowing she was right. She crossed the room and embraced him tightly and looked into his eyes. "We will win this war, Draco." The surprise of his lips pressing into hers elicited a moan from Hermione's lips and she clutched onto his tighter. Pure desire overtook them as their hands groped at each other, their tongues fighting for control. Arousal pooled between her legs while Draco pulled her closer to him, his need for her pressing against her thigh. Ron was never this demanding._

_Hermione gasped and pulled away. "D-Draco, this is wrong." She tried to catch her breath. "I'm with Ron—"_

"_Fuck Weasel… you know I'd give you more than he could."_

"_But… I love him."_

"_Look where loves gets us, Hermione. It breaks our hearts and runs ours lives. Love beats us down till we're nothing but empty carcasses. Love… love is dangerous business._

That had been their breaking point. It only took Hermione and Draco two more days to get and plan what Harry and the Order need to defeat Voldemort. Those two days trailed like months. They only spoke about the curses, the strategy. The silence between them was so loud; their bodies that ached for one another sat on what seemed like opposite sides of the earth.

He had hated her. She knew he still did a little. What witch would ever turn down Draco Malfoy, especially a mudblood?

Towards the end of the afternoon, Hermione let Draco know that she was leaving and that she would see him in the morning. After he watched her small figure ascend the stairs, he followed a few minutes later and bewitched his floor back to normal. He heard the door to the library open as the carpet moved back into place.

"Forget something?"

"Hello, Draco." He hadn't heard that voice in three years.

----

**A/N**: Hope you liked. Please review and let me know :)


	6. 5 The Proposition

A/N: Wow, you guys, it has most definitely been a while! Forgive me, forgive me. Hopefully this chapter will make you happy since it's much longer than the others (I really had no idea how short the earlier chapters were until the other day).

As always, I loved and appreciated your reviews.

----

Chapter 5 – The Proposition

"Hello, Pansy."

"Up to evil deeds, I see," she said, eying the plush carpet on the floor.

"That's your area of expertise, isn't it?" He sat down nonchalantly in the dark leather chair, gesturing her to sit across from him.

She cackled, and a toothy grin took her face. "Who me?" she asked, following his lead. She smoothed imaginary wrinkles out of her posh robes while crossing her legs. "Why would you assume such a thing?"

"You _are _a Parkinson."

"And you're a Malfoy."

_Touche._ "What do you want?"

"Can't an old friend make a friendly call?" She cocked her head and looked at him with innocent eyes that were almost convincing. Almost.

He just looked at her, waiting for her to get to the point. The woman cleared her throat and removed her masked smile. Time for business.

"I know that you're _working_ for them, Draco, but the rest of us aren't very happy about what the Ministry did to our parents, our families. We want revenge." She paused. "Blaise and I decided that we are not going to sit around and let the people who destroyed us run around without punishment.

"Your parents were killed too, Draco. You were able to keep the manor, unlike us, but they killed your family. Though it seems that you forgot that immediately after it happened."

"No, Pansy, Voldemort murdered my mother, and my father brought his death upon himself. Without Voldemort, you're nothing. You will never be able to fight the ministry alone."

"Which is why I have come to you, Draco." She grabbed his hand. "Join us. Lead us. Take back the Malfoy name!"

He tossed her hand away. "You're fucking crazy."

"What? It would be perfect. You must meet with Weasley all of the time, you must know the ministry's secrets. You must know its weaknesses."

"Pansy, get out."

She stood, sighing. "Think about it, Malfoy. Or should I say Draco? I'm not sure you deserve that name anymore."

----

"Hey sweetie! I see that you got my note."

Hermione smiled and nodded before hugging Ginny. "I went to the ministry to see Dad, and I was gong to stop by and see you as well. They said you were away on research, so I thought it best to just leave you a note on your door. I figured you and I were in need of a girls' night."

"Yes. A girls' night is badly needed." Hermione walked into the kitchen while Ginny shut the apartment door. "Where's Harry tonight?"

Ginny lifted a lid from the pot in front of her, the steam flushing her face. "Some sort of auror business. He'll be gone for a couple of days.

"I hope pasta is okay?"

"That's fine." Hermione pulled two white plates from the cupboard and began to set the table will glasses and silverware. "_Incendio_." Fire immediately danced on top of the table's plum-colored candlesticks.

"So," Ginny grinned. "Have you met any hunks at the Ministry yet?"

Hermione's eyes rolled. "Oh yes, they're in such abundance in the Potions Department."

"There's a certain blonde cutie who happens to be the head of the Dark Arts Council."

"Yeah, well… he's a bit of a prick."

"Perhaps he's changed since Hogwarts. Did you see him today?"

"Yes."

"Well, what happened?" The girls sat down at the table and Ginny poured two glasses of wine. "I want every last drop of juiciness."

"There are no 'drops of juiciness.'" Hermione twirled her spaghetti.

"You saw him today. That right there is a huge drop! How did it go?"

_Uncomfortably. _"Ginny, you act like I'm lusting after Malfoy or something."

"It wouldn't be the worst thing, ya know? Draco has really proven himself in the Dark Arts Council, at least that's what Dad says. He was a git at school, but let's face it," Ginny leaned into the table, as if she had a deep secret to spill to her friend, "he's premium hunk."

Hermione laughed. "You're crazy."

"Enough already! _Spill_!"

"Well, I walked into the department today, and I was told that I would be working on my research at Malfoy Manor. So I apparated there and he said that he and I would be working together for the project."

"What is this project anyway?"

She shook her head. "Top secret."

"No fun! Harry always gets to know all of this cool top secret stuff and I'm always out of the loop!"

"That's why you should work for the ministry instead of keeping the books for your brothers. How is the shop doing anyways?"

"Shop? How about shops? They're all over Britain."

"I've been gone so long that I had no idea!"

"Yes, I only keep the books for the main shop in Diagon Alley."

Hermione became quiet. "I've missed a lot in the past five years."

Ginny grabbed her hand and gave Hermione a comforting smile. "We're just glad to have you back. Harry is thrilled! He has really missed you. I think it's good for him to have one of you back."

Hermione tucked a loose curl behind her ear and nodded sadly.

"You still miss him, huh?"

"Well of course. I loved him, and I still do. It's not as bad as it was five years ago, though. The pain is almost completely gone. There are still nights when I'm so lonely and it tears me apart to know that I will never have him again. And there are the nightmares. I used to relive that night every time I went to bed, but, thankfully, it doesn't happen much anymore." The witch cleared her throat, forcing down the lump that had formed. "Let's move onto happier things, shall we?"

The red head grinned. "I have something to show you." With a flick of her wand, the dishes appeared in the sink and began to wash themselves. Ginny took Hermione by the hand and let her into the bedroom.

"I have to ward the closet so that Harry won't take a peak." The wardrobe door swung open to reveal her wedding dress – a simple, long, strapless ivory gown made of silk organza with small pearl accents on the bodice.

"Oh Ginny! It's beautiful!"

She giggled. "Isn't it?" She picked the white gown up and pressed it against her body, twirling around in front of the mirror. "Harry would die if he knew how much it cost, but I had to splurge a bit!"

"Are you ready for the big day?" Hermione asked as she moved Harry's clothes off the bed so she could sit.

Ginny snorted. "Yeah right! It's a month away and I still have so much to do. Of course this is a _huge_ deal because the Boy Who Lived is marrying the Minister's daughter, so it's even more nerve-wracking than usual.

"You know, Hermione, if I knew that you were going to be back, I would have asked you to be in the wedding." She hung the dress back in the closet.

She nodded. "I know. It's okay though. Everyone would be so shocked to see me back and in your wedding. Can you imagine the headlines? 'Potter's Former Love Steals Spotlight at His Wedding.' 'Minister's Daughter Proves to Harry She is Over His Tryst.'"

"Oh, there will still be headlines! Just you see. It will be on the front page, too."

"That's the scary thing. Merlin forbid _The Daily Prophet_ would write real news."

Ginny pounced on the bed. "Hermione, I have an assignment for you."

"What?" _This could not be good_.

"You have one month to find a date for the wedding! A whole month! There are lots of boys in the Wizarding World who would be more than willing to whisk Hermione Granger off of her feet."

"Eh, I don't know Ginny—"

"No, no, Miss Granger. Or I will find one for you, and you don't want that."

Hermione looked at her friend and sighed in defeat, but could not help but grin. "Fine. I will look for someone, but if I don't find anyone, don't force some pig on me, please."

She laughed. "Okay, okay, 'Mione. I'll be nice."

----

Draco needed to talk to Arthur Weasley. Immediately. He grabbed his wand and quietly muttered, "_patesco_," to search the room for any spying devices that Pansy might have left behind. A bright blue light began to glow from behind the seat that Pansy was sitting in. A simple "_aboleo,_" and the bug and the light vanished.

He walked across the room in long, quick strides to the fireplace, where he threw a handful of floo powder into the flames. "The Burrow!" Draco appeared in the fireplace of the Weasleys' home. He was one of the few employees in the ministry whose fireplace was networked with the Minister of Magic's.

Arthur was the head of the British wizard community, but he refused to leave his home in the Burrow, though the Weasleys had made several improvements. The whole magical world believed that he lived in the Minister's Manor, but it was merely a façade for international purposes. Couldn't have Britain's minister living in a shack, could they? Plus, it was a good security measure.

"Draco!" Arthur Weasley entered the office and sat down at the desk. "How is the research going? Please, have a seat."

Draco nodded his thanks and sat. "Well, it's still a bit too early in the game to decide how it's going. But that's not why I'm here, Minister. Pansy Parkinson came to the manor this evening, wanting to… persuade me to lead a group to overthrow the ministry. She and others want revenge for what happened to their parents and homes."

"Hmm." Arthur nodded. "Do you have any ideas of how to handle this?"

"Well, that's why I came to you and brought it to your attention. Should we just ignore it, should aurors spy on them or infiltrate them? What?"

"It's definitely not something to ignore, Draco. I don't expect a group of Death Eater impersonators to overpower the Ministry of Magic, but to turn a blind eye to it would be foolish. Do you know how many are in their numbers? Did she divulge any plans?"

"No. I basically told her she was delusional and to fuck off. The only name she mentioned was Blaise Zabini."

The minister chuckled. "I must say that I was hoping you would have shown just a tiny bit of interest. That way, you could tell her you're interested and lead them into a trap."

Draco nodded, an idea suddenly popping into his head. "I think I know someone who, with a bit of persuading, might agree to help us out with that."

----

A/N: Patesco: to be revealed

Aboleo: to destroy

Review, puhlease! bats eyelashes


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